August 25, 2008

"You Do What You Say You're Gonna Do"

[Now Updated and improved!]

Since I have no teevee (too poor, ya know), I'm listening to Michelle Obama on the raydeeo. Did she just say, in extolling the blessed virtues of everyone she's related to (speaking personally, you can take most of my relations, please) and in telling the American exceptionalist myth for the gazillionth time (that's a white exceptionalist myth, 'member?), that Barack reaffirmed for her the importance of doing "what you say you're gonna do"? Did she actually say that?

Overall, Obama is flat-out kicking McCain's ass when it comes to Wall Street contributions, raking in nearly $9 million from securities and investment executives, compared to $6.2 million for McCain. Obama has received more contributions from Goldman Sachs than from any other employer — more than $627,000 at this writing — not to mention $398,021 from JP Morgan Chase, $353,922 from Lehman Brothers and $291,388 from Morgan Stanley. Even among hedge-fund executives, who have an unequivocal interest in electing McCain, Obama is whipping the Republican, collecting $500,000 more than McCain.

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Not only did Obama not show up to vote [on the Stop Excessive Speculation Act], he appeared at a public forum three days later flanked by Jon Corzine and Robert Rubin, two former Goldman executives, to discuss how to revive the economy. Here you have the basic formula of campaign contributions in a nutshell: Powerful investment bank gives big money to candidate, needed reform requires candidate to cross said investment bank, candidate pussies out and finds way to be gone at the moment of truth, candidate resurfaces later in arms of aforementioned investment bankers.

Obama's absence on oil speculation was eerily reminiscent of his previous decision to change his mind about giving retroactive immunity to telecom companies for spying on Americans. Obama withdrew his pledge to filibuster the immunity bill right around the time the Democrats announced that AT&T would be sponsoring the Democratic convention. So no filibuster on retroactive immunity from the top Democrat — but conventiongoers in Denver will get tote bags emblazoned with the AT&T logo. So that's something.